Bernardino de Jesus Ramirez-Ramirez, Kidnapping, South Carolina 2023

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Bernardino de Jesus Ramirez-Ramirez, 35, a Guatemalan man, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and illegal transportation of an alien in federal court.

Evidence revealed that in October 2022, Ramirez paid for a 16-year-old girl to be smuggled into the United States from Guatemala. He directed her journey into the US and instructed her to turn herself in to immigration officials after she crossed the border and provide them his name and contact information as the person who was supposed to receive her.

The minor was taken into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement and placed in a shelter for unaccompanied alien children. Officials at the shelter learned that the minor was not related to Ramirez and had never met him before, that he had paid her smuggling debt, and that he had work lined up for her in the US.

A forensic examination of Ramirez’s phone revealed that he was fixated on gaining control over the minor. For months, he exchanged messages with members of the minor’s family regarding her smuggling debt and indicating he would do whatever it took to get her into his custody.

On April 5, 2023, Ramirez drove from Missouri to the victim’s home in South Carolina and told her that if she did not come with him, she would be deported back to Guatemala. The victim, believing her debt would be increased and she would be deported if she did not go along, agreed to leave with Ramirez.

“Every child deserves to grow up in a safe environment, free from the threat of harm,” said Adair F. Boroughs, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. “Crimes that exploit and endanger our young people will be met with swift accountability.”

Ramirez faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison and a fine of up to $500,000, as well as at least three years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment. United States District Judge Donald C. Coggins presided over the trial and will sentence Ramirez after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

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